The Derzhava (russian: Держава, English translation: ''independent, self-sufficient nation-state'') was a royal yacht of the

House of Romanov The House of Romanov (also transcribed Romanoff; rus, Романовы, Románovy, rɐˈmanəvɨ) was the reigning dynasty, imperial house of Russia from 1613 to 1917. They achieved prominence after the Tsarina, Anastacia of Russia, Anastasi ...

. It was laid down in 1866 and launched in 1871. The ''Derzhava'' (

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...

) and the '' Livadia'' (

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

) were the last wooden

paddle steamer A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses we ...

s built for the Romanovs. The ''Derzhava'' served the Romanovs until 1898, when she was converted into a training ship and renamed ''Dvina''.

History

The ''Derzhava'' was laid down at the New Admiralty,

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

by Alexander II of Russia. I. S. Dmitriev was appointed as master shipwright. The design of ''Derzhava'' was based on the British royal yacht HMY ''Victoria and Albert''. She was launched five years later, in July 1871. Her two steam engines, of local design and make, were rated at 720 horsepower, and enabled a maximum speed of 16.72 knots. The deck of the ''Derzhava'' had two raised penthouses: the Emperor's in the back and the General Admiral's in the fore. The interiors of the imperial suites, furniture and tableware were designed by Ippolit Monighetti. The contract for the

figurehead In politics, a figurehead is a person who ''de jure'' (in name or by law) appears to hold an important and often supremely powerful title or office, yet ''de facto'' (in reality) exercises little to no actual power. This usually means that they ...

was awarded to

Mikhail Mikeshin Mikhail Osipovich Mikeshin (russian: Михаил Осипович Микешин; 1835–1896) was a Russian artist who regularly worked for the Romanov family and designed a number of outdoor statues in the major cities of the Russian Empire. ...

. Originally, Mikeshin proposed installing a female allegory of Russia wielding armor and the orb, the abstraction of the concept of the ship's name, but in 1867 Alexander dismissed the proposal and instructed Mikeshin to shape the standard

double-headed eagle In heraldry and vexillology, the double-headed eagle (or double-eagle) is a charge associated with the concept of Empire. Most modern uses of the symbol are directly or indirectly associated with its use by the late Byzantine Empire, origina ...

. Mikeshin made it by July 1870, yet his sculpture was radically different from the ordinary omnipresent state eagles. On 11 May 1874, ''Derzhava'' ran aground at

Vlissingen Vlissingen (; zea, label= Zeelandic, Vlissienge), historically known in English as Flushing, is a municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands on the former island of Walcheren. With its strategic location between the Scheldt river ...

Zeeland , nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I struggle and emerge") , anthem = "Zeeuws volkslied"("Zeelandic Anthem") , image_map = Zeeland in the Netherlands.svg , map_alt = , m ...

, Netherlands when leaving that port for Gravesend, Kent,

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. She was refloated on 13 May. ''Derzhava'' ran aground again in late June 1879. She was on a voyage from Cronstadt to Copenhagen. She was refloated two days later and resumed her voyage, arriving at Copenhagen on 29 June. The ''Derzhava'' had a crew of no less than 200 men. In 1888 she employed 238 men: 93 mechanics and stokers, 65 musicians, 15 choir singers, and others, not including the royal retinue of at least fifty. The ''Derzhava'' operated as a yacht until 1898. She was then converted into a training ship and re-christened ''Dvina''. The ''Dvina'' was decommissioned in 1905. Derzhava draft (2)

Notes

References

* Larionov, A. L. (2000, in Russian).
Iz istorii imperatorskih yacht
'. Gangut, vol. 22-24 (2000). {{1879 shipwrecks Royal and presidential yachts Ships of the Imperial Russian Navy Ships built at Admiralty Shipyard 1871 ships Maritime incidents in May 1874 Maritime incidents in June 1879